


Date Night

by ShadowHaloedAngel



Series: Camellia sinensis [4]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Date Night, F/M, Movie Night, PURE CUTE, curfew, diner, drive in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-03
Updated: 2013-11-03
Packaged: 2017-12-31 10:03:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1030390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowHaloedAngel/pseuds/ShadowHaloedAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With their busy schedules, Bruce and Pepper often struggle to get any time together. For their anniversary, Pepper makes sure to get them some time together and they go out for the kind of date that they never had in high school. And a certain engineer delights in teasing them when they get back after "curfew".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Date Night

Bruce and Pepper loved each other very much, in a way that neither of them had really felt before, or at least not for a long time. Bruce had had Betty, and they had been so very close for a while, but what they had was different. With Betty it had been more like a flash flood, a deluge that was brief but fierce and which passed fast enough. They had remained good friends, but the spark was never there again. With Pepper he found himself always with her at the back of his mind. Their friendship had grown much more slowly, and developed into something strong and beautiful, like an oak tree. He wasn't obsessed with her, nor she with him, but they sought each other out and spent time together. They shared kisses and cuddles, and lazy mornings on those rare weekends when Pepper didn't have some kind of business trip.

But Bruce was forever getting called out on Avengers missions, and with the rebuilding of his professional profile came invitations to conferences to present his latest research. He'd turned them down the first few times, until he'd finally come to realise they were serious, rather than wanting him there as some sort of freak show display. He was still selective about his audiences, but he was slowly rising once more in the esteem of the scentific establishment.

Pepper was one of the busiest women in the world and there was no way that was going to change any time soon either. She was the world's most powerful woman, and one of the top ten most influential CEOs. Bruce had heard the maxim a few times that a woman had to do twice the work of a man for half the recognition, but until he had started getting to know some of the women who were now in his life, he hadn't realised how true it was, and it was Pepper who really brought it home to him.

They had evenings together, late dinners, showers, massages and amazing, slow and easy sex, but neither of them ever really had the time for real dates. They were a luxury that just didn't fit into the schedule, no matter how much the two of them wanted it to.

That was why Pepper was sure to take a weekend off, definitively off, from everything. No emails, no calls, no messages, no carrier pigeons (though she did have to give her assistant due credit for coming up with that as a way round direct instructions. She could appreciate the ingenuity, once she'd gotten over the frustration of having her private time interrupted), nothing but her and Bruce.

She had spoken to SHIELD, and Steve, and Tony too, making it clear that if something came up that night, then they were to handle it themselves. It hadn't been an easy conversation to have, but after some of the people she'd faced down, Director Fury really didn't scare her that much. And Steve was like a puppy who rolled over if you tickled him behind the ears. Though she wasn't about to tell anyone about that trick, not even Tony (if he hadn't already figured it out).

It wasn't anything special, not really, but... they had been together for several months without really having the kind of time to relax and be a couple, away from all the responsibilities which always weighed so heavy on their shoulders. One of the things she had learned as CEO, though, was that money could make pretty much anything happen, regardless of notice. Things that were inconvenient suddenly became a delight if the right palms were greased. But Bruce wasn't the kind of guy to be comfortable with that, so for once she hadn't had to wield her influence to get what she wanted to impress someone. That wouldn't be Pepper, after all, that would be Miss Potts. Bruce had separation between his work persona and his Avengers persona, and she had separation between her work persona, and, well, herself. She'd learned long ago that she couldn't handle living and breathing the corporate world like Natasha did espionage or Tony, engineering.

This was back to basics. She'd found a drive in movie theatre, with a nearby diner, and suddenly the urge to have the kind of experience that everyone was meant to have in high school but which had strangely passed her by was overwhelming. So she made plans, and as the day crept closer, all she would say to Bruce was that he should be sure to keep the weekend clear.

Bruce hadn't questioned it when he'd received his orders from Pepper. He respected the fact that she was very efficient, and that she had effectively spent years being paid to plan the life of one of the world's most unpredictable and frustrating men. Successfully. He was completely certain that nobody else would have been capable of getting to Tony to even half of the meetings Pepper had managed, let alone clinching some of the intervening business deals. Besides, more often than not, their schedule was governed more by hers than by his. Partially because his was hugely unpredictable and she always had to know where she was going to be, and also partially because he was his own boss provided the Avengers weren't dealing with yet another of the myriad incidents that seemed to besiege the city of New York and no longer made it to front page news.

He quite liked the jeans he was wearing. They were comfortable, a little faded somewhat like him, and they did suit him he had to admit. But then, Pepper had an eye for that kind of thing. And so did Natasha, who had taken him shopping on another occasion when Pepper hadn't had time. She had explained (gently but firmly, in that way only Natasha could) that he was dating the most powerful and well-dressed woman on the planet, and that while Pepper had absolutely no problem with how he dressed, Bruce's wardrobe really needed updating. Besides, Tony was starting to take it as a personal insult, and at least this way he didn't have to go shopping with Tony and get dragged to his personal tailor. Natasha was more than capable of handling everything. She was more than capable of handling /anything/, and though she didn't care to dwell on where exactly she'd got this experience from, Bruce had decided that discretion was the better part of valour and all things considered it would be safer not to argue with her. 

Besides, Pepper's reaction the first time she'd seen him in them had made the whole ordeal worth it. 

He paired those with a nice button down. He had a quiet sense of style, but now he was no longer on the run, he could afford to express it a little more, and he got the feeling that she appreciated his casual clothing. It was the complete opposite of the power-dressing existence she lived in every /other/ minute of her day. 

He waited in the living room with a bunch of flowers. She'd said she would meet him there - it was easier than meeting at her other place. She lived more in her rooms in the tower now, and he was grateful for it because of the extra time it meant they had together. He knew how this was meant to go, the guy was meant to pick the girl up, promise to have her home by curfew and that he would drive safely, and then that was that and the two of them rode off into the sunset to enjoy a nice evening. But neither of them had the energy to complicate the charade too much. 

That didn't mean that when she walked in his eyes didn't scan from her open toed heels all the way up glorious tanned, lithe limbs that seemed to stretch on forever. Her dress was white, and it set the light tan off perfectly (she never managed to get more than lightly tanned, and even that was fake. She burned far too easily for anything else. The skirt flared lightly from her waist to end in mid-thigh and he honestly struggled to breathe for a minute. 

Her lips curved up in a shy smile and instantly he was on his feet, offering her the flowers and bending to kiss her hand. 

"You look incredible."

She blushed a little, and his heart skipped the same way it always did when her high cheekbones were dusted with light pink. It was a source of occasional pride to see her blush like that. And he always took it as a good sign - it meant she had let her guard down, and that was something Pepper could afford to do with precious few people, and something he would always be honoured to see. 

"You look good too."

"Just good?" he asked with a wry smile "I suppose any effort I made would have paled into insignificance beside your natural radiance."

"No, you know what I mean! You look... " she nodded a little, gazing at him, "you look really good."

He leant up for a kiss, lingering in it for a long time. He planned to savour this entire evening. Any time with her was worth treasuring but for once, this was something special, just for them. 

"And you are perfect. So, where are you taking me?"

Pepper smiled and drew one of the white roses from the bouquet he had presented to her, tucking it into her hair. 

"Well, you can drive, but I'll give you directions? I know it's kind of cliche, but I thought maybe... dinner and a movie might be nice?"

"As long as you have me back before curfew. I have a big test tomorrow and my parents will be so mad if I'm back late."

She poked her tongue out teasingly at his impish grin, and they both laughed. The life they lead, and the people they were surrounded by sometimes meant they were a little too aware of the darkness endemic in the underbelly of the whole world. Heroes didn't get their hands as dirty as law enforcement who dealt with murders that were a dime a dozen, assaults, drugs, domestic violence... or at least, most of them didn't. Some heroes had been known to take things personally.

Bruce had taken to running a twice weekly free clinic for the poor, and Steve volunteered teaching art classes at a couple of local orphanages. Tony never got directly involved, but the funding for everyone else's work came from somewhere, and he never asked for credit, receipts or budgets. They got whatever they asked for, and both Bruce and Steve had come to the conclusion that it wasn't worth taking advantage of Tony, no matter how easy it would be. Tony deserved better than that for a lot of reasons, and trust had to be built. If they lost his trust they could say goodbye to the team: it would never function again. 

Pepper knew about all of that, and she encouraged all of them, looking for new opportunities, or setting up joint ventures with the Maria Stark Foundation, but she was still sadly too busy to do anything herself. Being around Tony had taught her enough about sadness though, being around any of the team could do that, but it was his struggles she had watched from the outside as he nearly tore himself apart, then reinvented himself. Not just once, but twice, even if the second reinvention was less major change than crisis of living. Literally a crisis about whether he was going to live. Not that he'd told her that at the time. 

Knowledge like that made these lighter moments all the more precious.

He followed the directions to the diner, pleasantly surprised. She had said to dress down, and although she still looked like she was going to a cocktail party, for Pepper she was fairly restrained. He had taken that as a good sign, but Pepper had had a long time to get used to the finer things in life. He wasn't comfortable around luxury. This was exactly the right kind of place to be able to relax.

He pulled up and, unable to resist, leant over for a soft kiss. 

"You're beautiful."

"And you're handsome. Also... tonight, I'm just Pepper, you're just Bruce, and... nothing else matters. Not tonight. Tonight is just for us." She leant in for another kiss. 

"That sounds perfect." He smiled, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand and getting out of the car to open her door. 

She giggled a little, but took the offered hand, offering a bright smile. She felt young again, not that she'd ever felt that young for long. Losing your parents kind of brought everything home to you on that score, and made you learn to stand on your own two feet. She was pretty sure Bruce hadn't had dates like this, or at least, not many of them. Not that he didn't deserve them, he was cute as anything, sweet, romantic, intelligent, and any number of qualities that an intelligent woman would look for. But most high school girls didn't really fall into that category and those that did rarely had time to date. 

"Alright. By the way... after dinner, the drive in is doing a midnight double bill..."

"...Well I guess I can forego cramming this once..." he tugged her gently offbalance, catching her against his chest and stealing another kiss before they headed towards the bright lights of the diner.

"I promise I'll make it worth your while?"

"Gonna let me borrow your slide rule?"

Giggling like adolescents, giddily free for once, the two of them took their seats opposite each other in the plastic booth, perusing the menus.  
Pepper ordered a burger without too much deliberation, and after a little more consideration, Bruce did the same. He trusted Pepper's taste in food, even if he was still a little sceptical of her taste in men. They agreed to split a side of onion rings, and when the food arrived it certainly did not disappoint. People mocked diner food a lot, but Bruce had to admit there was a certain comfort to it which nothing else could match, especially when it was made well. His own definitions of comfort food deviated more than slightly from the norm, but that was a common effect of years of travelling. 

They talked and ate, and Bruce was pretty sure that he was somehow falling more in love with Pepper as she gestured with fries, talking with her mouth full and those blue eyes sparkling. He had a lot of passion for his own work. He couldn't have carried it on if he didn't, but... it was rare to find such passion in somebody else, and he had forgotten quite how alive Pepper could become when she was away from everything which kept her so wrung out all the time. 

He wondered if Tony had ever gotten to know her like this, if he knew that she loved art, or that she had once been a cheerleader, and had a lead in a school play... he could quite easily picture her as Juliet, and had to struggle not to start quoting Shakespearean dialogue at her. Eventually it got to the point where he couldn't help it anymore, and he just leant in and kissed her, full on the lips, tasting salt and a hint of ketchup from her fries.

Her cheeks flushed pink, and he just gazed at her for a long moment, this beautiful woman who for some reason had chosen him, had decided to trust /him/... he could still barely wrap his head around it, but it wasn't because of who he had become that he struggled, rather it was because of who he had been. This really was so reminiscent of how high school could have been, should have been... and suddenly he just felt like the awkward nerd with the scruffy clothes who hid in the back of the science classrooms and the library, who never got a date except who was somehow miraculously on one with the most popular girl in the school. Pepper had made it clear that she certainly hadn't been that girl, but Bruce couldn't see it any other way. She was smart, beautiful, talented, kind... and she had chosen him. Now if he could just keep it in his pants, they'd be golden. 

They split an ice cream sundae after their burgers, and Pepper leaned over to wipe off a bit of ice cream from Bruce's nose, sucking it off her finger afterwards and making him blush a little and clear his throat. It was such a relief to drop all the acts, all the masks, all the pressure... nobody recognised them here, they were just like any other couple. Though they certainly didn't expect to find a ten percent discount off their bill for 'being so damn adorable'. Pepper was sure to leave a handsome tip, and they held hands on their way back out to the car park.

"Shall we head to the drive in?" she suggested, and Bruce nodded, opening her door and bending to kiss her hand. The chivalry made her giggle again as she climbed in, somehow contriving to keep her dress decent, short as it was. 

It wasn't far to the movie theatre, and Bruce bought the tickets while Pepper picked up the refreshments. The drive in was a rapidly declining tradition, and Bruce remembered going a few times with his foster family, but... this brought a lot of memories flooding back, and he was suddenly urged to look into keeping drive ins alive. The double bill was due to finish late, but that didn't bother either of them, the knowledge that they had nothing to be up for coupled with the excitement of sneaking back in after their unofficial curfew only adding to the fun of the evening. 

They didn't actually end up paying much attention to the movies, and if anyone had asked them afterwards what they'd been to see, the only way they could have known would have been by checking the ticket stubs. They had found making out in the back seat of the car a far more profitable and pleasant way to spend the time, and when they got back to the tower, they were both a little dishevelled and pretty giggly. 

As they snuck in through the vestibule, they heard a tutting and froze, Bruce instinctively pulling Pepper close, to see Tony Stark standing in his dressing down, hands on his hips and a huge grin on his face, watching them both. 

"You are both in big trouble! What on earth made you think it would be acceptable to come back this late! You are going to be so grounded!"

"Who's grounded?" A sleepy super soldier appeared and snuggled up to Tony, nuzzling his ear and rather ruining the strict image "It's cold and you're warm, come back to bed..."

At that, both of them burst out laughing again and made a big deal of tiptoeing in exaggeratedly while pulling faces at the slightly distracted engineer. 

They reached Bruce's room first, and fell onto the bed, Bruce rolling them over so that he could gaze up at Pepper in the light of the moon. He brushed his fingers lightly over her cheek, along her jaw and stared up at her in awe for a moment.

"You are... so beautiful..."

She blushed and tilted her head into the touch, kissing his palm.

"And you're very handsome..."

"...Stay the night?"

"Always..."

He smiled and pulled her close again, shifting to lay over her and kiss her breathless. Tomorrow could wait.


End file.
